The Pittsburgh Penguins had nothing going right for them heading into Sunday's game against the Montreal Canadiens.

They had lost eight in a row and were coming off back-to-back lifeless performances against the Ottawa Senators and this very Canadiens team on Saturday. They got blanked 4-0 in both games and were desperate for something positive to happen on Sunday.

They got a whole lot of positives during Sunday's game, starting with Sidney Crosby becoming the Penguins' franchise all-time leader in points (1,724). He notched a goal and an assist in the first period, giving the Penguins a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes before they snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win. They even snapped their nine-game shootout losing streak, too. 

It's the first time that the Penguins have won a shootout since Nov. 16, 2024, against the San Jose Sharks. 

Once Arturs Silovs made that final save in the shootout, it felt like a weight was lifted off everyone's shoulders, at least for this game. The players went nuts on the bench, and even head coach Dan Muse let out a few fist pumps. 

They needed to pick themselves up off the mat, and they did exactly that. This was their best overall performance since they were up 5-1 against the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 13. Yes, I know what happened after they made it 5-1, but up until then, they were skating the Sharks off the ice. It's precisely what they were doing to the Canadiens on Sunday (outside of 3-on-3 overtime). 

The Penguins finished the game with 65.2% of the scoring chances and 79.1% of the high-danger chances at 5v5. They also had 69.8% of the expected goals. 

The question now is whether the Penguins can build on this win, but for now, they got the victory when they desperately needed it. 

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